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US 4,935,906 AGranted
Scanning sonar system
AssigneeSpan, Inc.
InventorsWilliam Baker, Kevin E. Nortrup, James C. Stevens
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Images of underwater features, animate and inanimate, are produced from substantial distances in any direction around a boat, using small and easily mountable sonar devices, including three sonar transducers, two being stationary and the third being directable, the transducers being operable at various ultrasonic frequencies. Under keyboard control and using completely integrated electronic circuitry, images and echo sounding reports are generated on a graphic video display. The images include a sector-shaped image from a sector scan which covers a selected range of azimuth angles at a selected down angle.
Claims23
A sonar system for installation on a fishing boat or other vessel, comprising:
- scanning transducer means arranged for mounting at a certain location on said vessel for underwater transmission of bursts of ultrasonic energy from said location and for developing echo signals in response to reflections of ultrasonic energy from fish or other underwater targets, scanning transducer control means for controlling said scanning transducer means to effect transmission and reception of energy along narrow beams each having a central axis at a down angle measured from a horizontal reference plane through said location and at an azimuth angle measured from a vertical reference plane through said location, an operator's control panel arranged for manual operation to develop command signals including signals which define a selected underwater region to be scanned, said scanning transducer control means being controlled from said command signals for controlling said down and azimuth angles of said beams for transmission and reception to said selected underwater region to effect scanning thereof, visual display means, and imaging means coupled to said scanning transducer means, to said transducer control means, to said control panel and to said display means and arranged to develop a visual image of said selected underwater region in a display area of said display means, said visual image including indications at locations within said display area corresponding to the locations of reflecting targets within said selected underwater region, said imaging means being arranged to control said display to indicate the horizontal distance from said location to reflecting targets indicated on said display.
A sonar system for installation on a fishing boat or other vessel, comprising:
- scanning transducer means arranged for mounting at a certain location on said vessel for underwater transmission of bursts of ultrasonic energy from said location and for developing echo signals in response to reflections of ultrasonic energy from fish or other underwater targets, scanning transducer control means for controlling said scanning transducer means to effect transmission and reception of energy along narrow beams each having a central axis at a down angle measured from a horizontal reference plane through said location and at an azimuth angle measured from a vertical reference plane through said location, an operator's control panel arranged for manual operation to develop command signals including signals which define a selected underwater region to be scanned, said scanning transducer control means being controlled from said command signals for controlling said down and azimuth angles of said beams for transmission and reception to said selected underwater region to effect scanning thereof, visual display means, and imaging means coupled to said scanning transducer means, to said transducer control means, to said control panel and to said display means and arranged to develop a visual image of said selected underwater region in a display area of said display means, said visual image including indications at locations within said display area corresponding to the locations of reflecting targets within said selected underwater region, wherein said scanning transducer control means are arranged for controlling said transducer means to effect transmission and reception of bursts along narrow beams which have central axes extending radially from said location in angularly spaced relation to one another to cover a generally sector-shaped underwater region having an apex at said location, and said imaging means being arranged to develop in said display area a sector-shaped visual image which corresponds to said sector-shaped underwater region having an apex at said location, wherein said angularly spaced central axes of said beams are at angularly spaced azimuth angles and are all positioned substantially at a common down angle selected by the operator, and said imaging means being arranged to control said display to produce a plurality of radially spaced indications extending arcuately in concentric relation about an apex of said sector-shaped image, range indications adjacent said radially spaced indicia to indicate the horizontal distance from said location to reflecting targets indicated on said display and depth indicia adjacent said radially spaced indicia to indicate the vertical distance from said location to reflecting targets indicated on said display.
A sonar system for installation on a fishing boat or other vessel, comprising:
- transducer means arranged for mounting at a certain location on said vessel for underwater transmission of bursts of ultrasonic energy from said location and for developing echo signals in response to reflections of ultrasonic energy from fish or other underwater targets, transducer control means for controlling said transducer means to effect transmission and reception of energy along narrow, beams from said location, visual display means, an operator s control panel arranged for manual operation to develop command signals for control of said transducer control means and said visual display means, and imaging means coupled to said transducer means, to said transducer control means, to said control panel, and to said display means and arranged to develop a visual image of a selected underwater region in a display area of said display means and also visual indications of ambient conditions which affect the operation of said system.
A sonar system for installation on a fishing boat or other vessel, comprising:
- scanning transducer means arranged for mounting at a certain location on said vessel for underwater transmission of bursts of ultrasonic energy from said location and for developing echo signals in response to reflections of ultrasonic energy from fish or other underwater targets, scanning transducer control means for controlling said scanning transducer means to effect transmission and reception of energy along narrow beams each having a central axis at a down angle measured from a horizontal reference plane through said location and at an azimuth angle measured from a vertical reference plane through said location, an operator's control panel arranged for manual operation to develop command signals including signals which define a selected underwater region to be scanned, said scanning transducer control means being controlled from said command signals for controlling said down and azimuth angles of said beams for transmission and reception to said selected underwater region to effect scanning thereof, visual display means, and imaging means coupled to said scanning transducer means, to said transducer control means, to said control panel and to said display means and arranged to develop a visual image of said selected underwater region in a display area of said display means, said visual image including indications at locations within said display area corresponding to the locations of reflecting targets within said selected underwater region, wherein said imaging means are controllable from said command signals to provide a scanning mode of operation in which said scanning transducer means and said display means are controlled to scan said selected underwater region and to develop said visual image of said selected underwater region, and wherein said imaging means are also controllable from said command signals to provide a down-looking mode of operation, said system further including a down-looking transducer unit for transmission and reception along a vertical axis therethrough, down-looking transducer control means for controlling transmission and reception of bursts by said down-looking transducer unit, and movement sensing means responsive to movement of said vessel and coupled to said imaging means, said down-looking transducer unit being controlled from said imaging means in said down-looking mode of operation to transmit and receive along a vertical axis through said location, and said display means being controlled in said down-looking mode of operation to produce in a display area target indications which are spaced in a first direction corresponding to said vertical axis and in a second direction corresponding to movement of said vessel.
A sonar system for installation on a fishing boat or other vessel, comprising:
- transducer means arranged for mounting at a certain location on said vessel for underwater transmission of bursts of ultrasonic energy from said location and for developing echo signals in response to reflections of ultrasonic energy from fish or other underwater targets, transducer control means for controlling said transducer means to effect transmission and reception of energy along narrow beams from said location, visual display means, an operator's control panel arranged for manual operation to develop command signals for control of said transducer control means and said visual display means, and imaging means coupled to said transducer means, to said transducer control means and to said display means and arranged to develop a visual image of a selected underwater region in a display area of said display means, said visual image including indications at locations within said display area corresponding to the locations of reflecting targets within said selected underwater region, a refreshable memory associated with said visual display means, a first microcomputer associated with said imaging means and arranged for control of said transducer control means and registering of received signal's, and a second microcomputer associated with said operator s control panel and arranged for control of said memory, said first and second microcomputers being interconnected for interchange of signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.